Visiting Seoul, South Korea

Ever since i started watching Korean dramas (and some variety shows) a few years back, I've always wondered what Korea was like. Every show i watch i focus on the subject's surroundings, trying to map out in my head how Seoul would look. One of my friends even went there to study abroad for a semester. Anytime she uploaded pictures, i'd be envious. I am a Korea addict; kpop during the day, kdramas at night, enjoying anything Korean culture related in-between. Being a Korea addict as Asian-American living in the States didn't seem out of the norm, but being a Chinese/Vietnamese-American in a Chinese/Vietnamese family gradually becoming white-washed with each new generation? That's a different story.

After months of arguing with my family about where to go on our next family trip, at the very last minute we managed to buy plane tickets, book the hotel, pack everything, and finally head to the place i've been dreaming of: Seoul. (Now i have something to say. This is not the first time I've been to Seoul. I went there in 1993 when i was 22 months old. Too young to remember anything. Maybe that's why I like korean things....cuz my parents took me there at a young young young age.)

First thing i noticed was the disappointment. It didn't really look like what's shown in Kdramas. Ok, kdramas are like american movies -> they don't depict real life. But at least variety shows do. Most of the time they're not edited a lot, almost like reality. Even then, it didn't look like variety shows. Starting from the airport, i was hunting down anything that looked familiar, even something small like a street corner or statue. But nothing. Seoul ended up looking like Hong Kong and Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City had a baby together and it was Seoul. (According to my friend, cities outside of Seoul were much better and more fun.) Regardless, i treated the trip as a cultural experience since i like Asian history and culture.

Here i provided some pix of my experience in Seoul. 
(please excuse the quality of the pictures. i condensed the file size for easier upload)

Most of our luggage had something Avatar related on them. More pix can be viewed here: http://zutaraxmylove.deviantart.com/art/Avatard-Luggage-Tags-308466373

I met Jay Park again! I went to his concert in SF on 5/25/2012. I assumed he went back to Korea right after his LA concert. His last tweet was in LA too. Guess not. He had a flight transfer. LA->SF. SF->Seoul. I saw him at the terminal at SFO but was too slow to get a picture with him then. Who knew we'd be on the same flight? This pic was taken before we headed into customs at ICN airport. Thanks Jay! 

Chicken Kababs from Myeongdong district. Non-spicy on left. Spicy on right. Perhaps the most tastiest chicken kababs i've ever eaten.

Bibimbap from Korean Folk Village.  The portion is smaller than what i'm used to but it still tasted good.

Korean Folk Village: Farmers' folk dance. I really enjoyed taking pictures of this performance. I left my DSLR on the highest shutter speed and watched them escalate faster and faster in their dance. Pretty much i was competing with the dancers on how fast i could take their picture.

Korean Folk Village is one of the many historical dramas' filming location. Sungkyunkwan Scandal was no exception. Starring (left to right) Yoo Ah-in, Mickey Yoochun, Park Min-young, and Song Joong-ki. I loved that drama, but more importantly, Soong Joong-ki~

Our tour guide took us to Jogyesa Temple. It features three giant golden Buddhas, each representing the future, present, and past. My dad is a buddhist so seeing this probably shocked him. I'm not religious so i just treated it as an artistic experience. 

These are the windows/doors of Jogyesa Temple. Perhaps the most beautifully decorated doors i've seen in person in terms of Asian architecture. The other traditional Korean buildings don't have such elaborate doors, even the king's palace. (Ironic isn't it?)

The entrance way to Gyeongbok Palace, the largest palace in Korea. The king and his family/court lived here. To the left of this structure is modern day Seoul. If i backed up even just a little bit, u could see the street lights and paved car roads. 

At Deoksu Palace, my family and i got to try on hanboks. They're not the ones i wanted to try on (the more modern ones) but nevertheless, interesting feeling.

Pizza Hut is different in Korea. It's BETTER. And they have different kinds of food. I've never seen this in the States. Then again, I don't eat Pizza Hut. This is my first time eating Pizza Hut.

Bulgogi pizza. Pretty good except for the sweet potato cheese crust. I'm not very fond of sweet potato.

N Seoul Tower. A pretty well-known couples/dating place. It's tower (not shown) is in the Namsan area and if u go to the top, u can see the entire city 360degree view. But more famous are the locks. Couples (or regular people) go there, write a wish on their locks and lock it there.

The day we went, they were filming a drama. But i have no clue which one. I don't recognize the actors.

Another tour guide took us around the city and we walked many hills. It wasn't til we passed the residential area of the tour that i saw a familiar building. I kept staring at it wondering why it was so familiar. Then the tour guide asked us if we watched Rooftop Prince. Then it clicked. It's the house they filmed at. The tour guide told us the last time she was brought a tour here, she watched them film.

Korea's War Memorial. That was an interesting experience. It's pretty big and takes a while to go through if u were to read and look at everything. We spent a good 2-3 hours in there. Of course Dad being a history lover, he had to drag him away.

Yeosu World Expo. It's 3 hours away from Seoul by train. And perhaps the ultimate place to deal with the old grannies and grandpas. The day we went had a lot of elderly tours besides the usual family groups and student field trips. THEY WILL PUSH AND CUT LINES. They don't care who u are, how old u are, what u are doing. THEY WILL GET THEIR WAY. Whoever said Chinese grandmas and grandpas are bad surely haven't dealt with the korean ones. Besides this problem, the employess there don't speak much english. It's ironic cuz it's a world expo featuring many different countries and English is considered an international language. Did they forget that the expo will have foreign visitors too? For the record, I DID see some caucasian foreigners who weren't part of the expo. I felt bad for them.

Taekkyeon demonstration in Insadong district. I love my action shots. They're so epic.

OHHHH i am a Big Bang fan...OHHH i am a G-Dragon biased. Sadly i didnt buy it cuz it was pineapple flavor. I'm not a fan of pineapple flavor. Neither was any of my family members.

At Dongdaemun shopping center, F.Cuz was performing. I'm not a fan but it was quite nice to see a live kpop performance IN Korea. Korean fans really are more intense than American ones.

Naengmyun. Translated would be "cold noodles". The States does have this but i've never tried it. I'd have to say it tasted pretty good. And yes, they are cold. But a tasty kind of cold. Similar to ice cream kind of cold but smooth.

Korea has Costco too! Sadly the day we went was the 2nd sunday of the month. Starting May 25th, they close the 2nd and 4th sunday of each month. Sighh...soo sad.

Green tea bingsu! It's half ice cream, half ice with flavoring. The ice is very small and easy to eat. But this thing is huge. My hand is there for scale. We bought two cuz Coin Cafe in Myeongdong wouldn't let us get just one. 6 people barely finished two.

Paris Baguette. The hot dog pastry is sweet yet salty at the same time. I'm a picky eater and this thing looked good, TASTED good. The hot dog bun is a pastry, something similar to croissants but the sauce is ketchup with melted cheese.

Now this is something i for sure have not seen in the States. This is not BBQ. It's a flat wok frying chicken and various vegetables with noodles on the side. I'm not very good with spicy so we got the non-spicy chicken set. Regardless if they say it's not spicy, IT WILL STILL BE SPICY! My mouth burned and begged for mercy but it tasted delicious! Perhaps the best meal I've had in Korea.

Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. 95% ice cream. 5% cake. Now THAT'S an ice cream cake. Baskin Robbins in the States would never compare.

Chicken Katsu over omlet rice from Dongdaemun district. Of all the katsu i've ever eaten in my life, this has to be the best one. Crunchy in the right way, smooth meat in the right way, not dry, good kind of juicy, full tummy making u crave for more.

So there ya have it. A week's worth of Korea condensed into a few pictures and captions. Not what I expected but very glad the food and historical sites made up for it. My favorite area would have to be Insadong and Myeongdong. They're the only two places that fit my style but still maintains its Korean edge. A good fusion between past and modern. For more pictures, I will be uploading them onto my facebook fanpage when i have the chance. Until then, this is my experience.

For added fun:
1) My mom and I in 1993.
2) My mom and I in 2012.

we wanted to take the same photo in the same spot but problem was the service mom had in 1993 doesn't exist anymore.